METROPOLITAN 

POLICE 
L  A  ¥. 


NEW  YOR 


PUBLISHED  BY  W.  REID  GOULD, 

(SUCCESSOR  TO  JANSEN  &  BELL,) 

Law  Blank  Publisher  and  Dealer  in  Stationery  and  Blank  Books, 
No.  158  NASSAU- STREET. 

1857. 


lEx  Htbria 


SEYMOUR  DURST 


When  you  leave,  please  leave  this  book 

Because  it  has  been  said 
"Ever  thing  comes  t'  him  who  waits 

Except  a  loaned  book." 


Avery  Architectural  and  Fine  Arts  Library 
Gift  of  Seymour  B.  Durst  Old  York  Library 


A.  1ST  .A.  C  T 

TO  ESTABLISH  A 

METROPOLITAN  POLICE  DISTRICT, 

AND  TO  PROVIDE  FOR  THE  GOVERNMENT  THEREOF. 
Passed  April  15,  1857,  three-fifths  being  present. 

The  People  of  the  State  of  New  York,  represented  in  Senate  and  Assembly,  do 
enact  as  follows  : 

2  1.  The  counties  of  New  York,  Kings,  Westchester  and  Richmond  are  hereby  ^he  poilic0 
•  °  J  chstr.ct. 

constituted,  for  the  purposes  of  this  act.  into  one  district,  to  be  called  "  The  Metro- 
politan Police  District  of  the  State  of  New  York."  Immediately  upon  the  passage 
of  this  act,  and  thereafter  from  time  to  time  as  required  by  this  act,  there  shall  be 
appointed  by  the  governor,  and  by  and  with  the  consent  of  the  senate  (except 
that  during  any  recess  of  the  senate  the  governor  may  appoint,  subject  to  the  there- 
after consent  of  the  same),  five  commissioners  of  police,  who  shall  be  the  chief  Commis- 

sionors. 

officers  of  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  and  who  shall  severally 
possess  and  perform  therein  the  powers  and  duties  authorized  and  enjoined  by  this 
act.  The  said  commissioners,  together  with  the  mayors  of  the  cities  of  Brooklyn 
and  New- York,  ex-officio,  shall  form  the  board  of  police  for  the  said  district,  and 
a  majority  of  them  shall  constitute  a  quorum  of  such  board  for  the  transaction  of 
business. 

|  2.  Three  of  said  commissioners  shall  be  appointed  from  the  city  of  New- York,  Duties  of 
one  from  Kings  county,  one  from  the  county  of  Richmond  or  Westchester.    The  missioneitf. 
persons  so  first  appointed  shall  thereupon  assemble  together  in  the  office  of  the 
secretary  of  state  and  draw  lots  among  themselves,  in  the  preface  of  the  said  sec- 
retary of  state  or  his  deputy,  for  three  terms  of  office ;  one.  terrMo  expire  for  three 
commissioners  upon  the  first  day  of  May,  which  will  be  in  the  year  eighteen  hun- 
dred and  fifty-eight,  another  term  to  expire  for  two  commissioners  on  the  first  day 
of  May  in  the  year  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-nine.    Each  commissioner  appointed  Succeeding 
to  fill  a  term  succeeding  an  expiring  one  shall  be  appointed  thereafter  for  the  full  gioners 
term  of  three  years,  and  the  appointment  for  such  full  term  shall  be  made  as  pro- 
vided in  section  first,  and  shall  be  made  from  the  county  in  which  the  vacancy 
occurred.  Any  vacancy  as  commissioner  of  police  for  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan 
Police  District"  shall  be  filled  by  the  board  of  police  for  the  residue  of  the  unex- 
pired term.    Any  one  of  the  said  commissioners  who  shall,  during  his  term  of 
office,  accept  any  other  place  of  public  trust  or  emolument,  or  who  shall,  during  the 
same  period,  receive  any  nomination  for  an  office  elective  by  the  people,  without 
publicly  declining  the  same  within  ten  days  succeeding  the  said  nomination,  shall 


AX  ACT  TO  ESTABLISH  .± 


Oath  of 
office. 


Officers  of 
the  board. 


Race  of 
business.' 


Duties  of 
the  commis- 
sioners. 


The  police 
force. 


be  deemed  thereby  to  have  vacated  his  office.  Any  one  of  the  commissioners 
aforesaid  may  be  at  all  times  removed  by  the  governor,  under  the  provisions  of  the 
statutes  relating  to  the  removal  from  office  of  sheriffs,  which  provisions  are  hereby 
extended  so  far  as  to  relate  to  each  one  of  the  said  commissioners. 

§  3.  Upon  the  conclusion  of  the  drawing  for  terms  of  office,  provided  for  in  the 
preceding  section,  the  said  secretary  of  state,  or  his  deputy,  shall  file  a  certificate 
of  the  result  thereof  and  give  to  each  commissioner  the  proper  certificate  of  his 
office,  according  to  the  term  he  shall  have  so  drawn  as  aforesaid.  The  said  secre- 
tary of  state,  or  his  deputy,  shall  then  administer  the  constitutional  oath  of  office 
to  each  commissioner  and  make  the  proper  record  thereof ;  whereupon  the  said 
commissioners  may  organize  themselves  into  a  board  of  police  for  the  said  "  The 
Metropolitan  Police  District,"  and  assume  the  control  of  the  police  force  thereof. 

\  4.  The  officers  of  the  board  of  police  shall  be  a  president  and  treasurer,  who 
shall  each  be  selected  from  among  the  said  commissioners.  The  board  shall  have 
power  to  appoint  a  chief  clerk  and  six  deputy  clerks  for  the  said  district,  who  shall 
severally  hold  office  at  the  pleasure  of  the  said  board.  The  principal  office  of  the 
board  shall  be  located  in  such  part  of  the  said  "The  Metropolitan  Police  District," 
as  may  be  deemed  most  advisable  and  convenient  for  the  transaction  of  business. 
The  said  office  shall  be  rented  by  the  board,  and  the  superintendent  of  police, 
hereafter  created,  shall  have  office  accommodation  in  the  same  building  with  that 
occupied  by  the  said  board.  The  office  accommodations  for  the  two  deputy  super- 
intendents of  police,  hereinafter  created,  may  be,  at  the  descretion  of  the  commis- 
sioners, located  in  any  part  of  the  district,  except  that  one  deputy  superintendent 
of  police  shall  have  office  accommodations  in  the  city  of  Brooklyn. 

\  5.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  police  hereby  constituted,  at  all  times 
of  the  day  and  night,  within  the  boundaries  of  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Po- 
lice District,"  to  preserve  the  public  peace,  to  prevent  crime  and  arrest  offenders, 
to  protect  the  rights  of  persons  and  property,  to  guard  the  public  health,  to  pre- 
serve order  at  every  primary  and  public  election,  to  remove  nuisances  existing  in 
public  streets,  roads,  places  and  highways,  to  provide  a  proper  police  force  at  every 
fire,  in  order  that  thereby  the  firemen  and  property  may  be  protected,  to  protect 
strangers  and  travellers  at  steamboat  and  ship  landings  and  railway  stations,  to  see 
that  all  laws  relating  to  the  observance  of  Sunday  and  regarding,  pownbrokers,mock 
auctions,  cmigragijf,  elections,  gambling,  intemperence,  lottery  policies,  vagrants, 
disorderly  personWnd  the  public  health  are  properly  enforced,  and  to  obey  and 
enforce  all  ordinances  of  common  councils  and  boards  of  supervisors,  and  town 
and  village  authorities  within  the  said  "The  Metropolitan  Police  District," 
which  are  applicable  to  peace  or  health. 

$  G.  The  said  duties  of  the  board  of  police  shall  be  more  especially  executed 
under  the  direction  and  control  of  said  board,  and  according  to  rules  and  regula- 
tions which  it  is  hereby  authorized  to  pass  from  time  to  time  for  the  more  proper 
government  and  discipline  of  its  surl  ordinate  officers,  by  a  police  force  for  the 
whole  of  the  said  "The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  and  authorized  to  do  duty 
in  any  part  thereof,  without  regard  to  residence  or  county  lines.  The  said  police 
force  shall  consist  of  a  general  superintendent  of  police  and  two  deputy  superintend 
enta  of  police,  five  sergeants  of  police  and  so  many  Inspectors  or  captains  of 


METROPOLITAN  POLICE  DISTRICT. 

police,  not  to  exceed  forty,  so  many  sergeants  of  police,  not  to  exceed  one  hundred 
and  fifty,  and  so  many  police  patrolmen  as  may  be  determined  upon  by  the  board 
•of  supervisors  of  the  county  of  New- York,  to  be  appointed  as  a  quota  of  the  patrol 
force,  to  be  paid  for  by  said  county,  and  as  many  police  patrolmen  so  may  be  de- 
termined upon  by  the  common  council  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  to  be  appointed  as  a 
quota  of  the  patrol  force,  to  be  paid  for  by  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  and  so  many 
police  patrolmen  as  may  be  determined  upon  by  the  supervisors  of  the  towns  of  the 
county  of  Kings,  not  included  within  the  municipal  jurisdiction  of  the  city  of 
Brooklyn,  to  be  appointed  as  a  quota  of  the  police  force,  to  be  paid  for  by  said 
towns  of  the  county  of  Kings,  and  as  many  police  patrolmen  as  may  be  determined 
upon  by  the  supervisors  of  the  counties  of  Richmond  and  Westchester,  to  be  ap- 
pointed as  a  quota  of  the  patrol  force,  to  be  paid  for  by  said  counties  respectively,  in 
the  mode  and  manner  hereinafter  provided  ;  and  the  aforesaid  authorities  may  from 
time  to  time  increase  or  diminish  the  number  of  patrol  men  ;  and  until  otherwise 
provided,  as  aforesaid,  the  said  quota  of  patrol  force  for  the  county  of  New-York 
and  for  the  county  of  Kings  shall  be  of  the  number  of  patrolmen  now  existing  by  law 
in  the  cities  of  New-York  and  Brooklyn.  The  said  officers*  hereby  created  for  the  JjJT™3  of 
said  police  force  shall  be  severally  filled  by  appointment  from  the  board  of  police,  in 
the  mode  prescribed  by  this  act,  and  each  person,  so  appointed,  shall  hold  office  only 
during  such  time  as  he  shall  faithfully  observe  and  exeeutc  all  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  the  said  board,  the  laws  of  the  state  and  the  ordinances  existing  within  the  dis- 
tricts enacted  by  the  city,  county,  town  and  village  authorities  within  the  same, 
.and  which  ordinances  apply  to  such  part  of  the  district  where  the  members  of  the 
police  force  may  be  on  duty. 

$  7.  The  qualifications,  enumerations  and  distribution  of  duties,  mode  of  trial  ^^fica" 
and  removal  from  office  of  each  officer  of  the  said  police  force,  shall  be  particularly 
defined  and  prescribed  by  rules  and  regulations  of  the  board  of  police,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  constitution  and  law  of  the  state  ;  provided,  however,  that  no  person 
shall  be  appointed  to  office,  or  hold  office  in  the  police  force  aforesaid,  who  cannot 
read  and  write  in  the  English  language,  or  who  is  not  a  citizen  of  the  United 
States'  or  who  shall  not  have  resided  within  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police 
District"  during  a  term  of  five  years  next  preceding  his  appointment,  or  who  shall 
never  have  been  convicted  of  crime ;  and  provided  that  on  person  shall  be  removed 
therefrom,  except  upon  written  charges  preferred  against  him  to  the  board  of  police, 
and  after  an  opportunity  shall  have  been  afforded  him  of  being  heard  in  his  defence ; 
and  provided  that  whenever  any  vacancy  shall  occur  as  inspector  of  police,  the 
same  shall  be  filled  by  an  appointment  from  among  the  persons  then  in  office  as 
sergeants  of  police,  and  a  like  vacancy  in  the  office  of  sergeants  of  police  shall  be 
filled  by  appointment  from  among  the  persons  then  in  office  as  police  patrolmen. 

§  8.  The  members  of  the  police  force  of  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  powers. 
District"  shall  possess,  in  every  part  of  the  State  of  New-York,  all  the  common 
law  and  statutory  powers  of  constable,  except  for  the  service  of  civil  process ;  and 
any  warrant  for  search  or  arrest,  issued  by  any  magistrate  of  the  State  of  New- 
York,  may  be  executed  in  any  part  of  the  state  by  any  member  of  the  police  force 
of  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  without  any  backing  or  endorse- 

*So  in  original. 


4 


AN  ACT  TO  ESTABLISH  A 


ment  of  the  said  warrant,  and  according  to  the  terms  thereof;  and  all  the  previ- 
sions of  sections  seven,  eight  and  nine,  of  chapter  two,  title  two,  part  four  of  the 
Revised  Statutes,  in  relation  to  the  giving  and  taking  of  bail,  shall  apply  to  this 
act.  The  general  and  deputy  superintendent  and  inspectors  or  captains  of  police 
having  just  cause  to  suspect  that  any  felony  has  been,  or  is  being,  or  is  about  to  be 
committed  within  any  building,  or  on  boord  of  any  ship,  boat  or  vessel  within  the 
said  "  The  Metopolitan  Police  District,"  may  enter  upon  the  same  at  all  hours  of 
the  day  and  night,  to  take  all  necessary  measures  for  the  effectual  prevention  or 
detection  of  all  felonies,  and  may  take  then  and  there  into  custody  all  persons  sus- 
pected of  being  concerned  in  such  felonies,  and  also  may  take  charge  of  all  prop- 
erty which  he  or  they  shall  have  then  and  there  just  cause  to  suspect  has  been 
tolen. 

naming  ^  9'  If  tlie  general  superintendent  of  police  shall  report  in  writing  to  the 

houses.  board  of  police  that  there  are  good  grounds  for  believing  any  house  or  room  within 
the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District "  to  be  kept  or  used  as  a  common 
gaming  house  or  cockpit,  and  if  two  or  more  householders,  dwelling  within  the 
said  district  and  not  belonging  to  the  Metropolitan  Police  aforesaid,  shall  make 
oath  in  wrriting  before  any  one  of,  the  commissioners  of  police,  and  annexed  to  the 
said  report  (which  oath  every  commissioner  of  police  is  hereby  empowered  to  ad- 
minister, receive  and  subscribe),  that  the  premises  complained  of  by  the  general 
superintendent  of  police  are  commonly  reported  and  are  believed  by  the  deponents 
to  be  kept  as  a  common  gaming  house  or  cockpit,  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any 
commissioner  of  police,  by  order  in  writing,  to  authorize  the  said  general  superin- 
tendent or  either  deputy  superintendents  of  police  to  enter  such  premises,  together 
with  such  numbers  of  the  patrol  force  as  shall  be  directed  by  the  said  commissioner, 
by  name,  to  occompany  him  or  them,  and  if  necessary  to  use  force  for  the  purpose 
of  affecting  such  entry,  whether  by  breaking  open  doors  or  otherwise,  and  to  take 
into  custody  all  persons  wdio  shall  be  found  therein,  and  to  destroy  all  implements 
of  gaming  found  therein,  and  forthwith  to  convey  the  said  persons  before  any 
magistrate  of  the  discrict,  who  shall  forthwith  proceed  to  hear  the  proof  whether 
or  no  any  of  such  persons  were  in  such  premises  for  the  purpose  of  gam. 
ing,  and  if  there  shall  be  probable  cause  for  believing  that  any  of  such 
persons  were  so  in  such  premises  for  the  purposes  of  gaming,  then  the  said 
magistrate  shall  forthwith  order,  by  due  commitment,  any  of  the  said  per. 
sons  to  find  good  bail,  with  two  householders  of  the  Metropolitan  Police 
District  as  his  securities,  conditioned  for  his  appearance  at  the  proper  criminal 
court  of  the  county  wherein  the  said  premises  are  situated,  having  jurisdiction  to 
try  misdemeanors,  either  at  the  term  thereof  then  in  being,  or  at  the  next  term 
thereof,  to  answer  any  indictment  which  may  be  found  thereat,  charging  him  with 
being  in  the  said  premises  as  a  common  gambler,  or  in  default  thereof  the  said 
magistrate  shall  commit  to  the  common  jail  or  city  prison  of  the  county  for  such 
trial.  The  said  magistrate  shall  immediately  send  the  proofs  in  writing  to  the  dis- 
trict attorney  of  the  county,  whose  duty  it  shall  be,  in  preference  to  any  other  case 
in  his  office  of  prosecution  for  an  offence,  to  lay  the  same  before  the  grand  jury  of 
the  county,  and  upon  indictment  being  thereupon  found,  to  immediately  try  the 
same  in  preference  to  every  other  case,  subject  to  the  discretion  of  the  courts.  It 
shall  be  sufficient  in  the  said  indictment  to  charge  that  the  defendant  (naming 
him),  upon  a  day  certain,  and  at  an  hour  certain,  was  arrested  within  a  common 


METROPOLITAN"  POLICE  DISTRICT. 


5 


gaming  bouse  and  is  a  common  gambler.  If  the  jury  are  satisfied  that  the  premi- 
ses in  which  he  was  arrested,  was  kept  for  purposes  of  gaming,  and  that  he  was 
present  for  the  purpose  of  gaming,  then  the  said  denfendaut  may  be  convicted  as  a 
common  gambler.  If  convicted  as  a  common  gambler,  then  the  court  shall  forth- 
with sentence  him,  as  for  such  misdemeanor,  to  an  imprisonment  not  less  than  ten  days 
in  the  jail  of  the  county,  or  penitentiary  not  exceeding  one  year,  and  at  hard  labor 
therein,  or  to  a  fine  not  less  than  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  nor  more  than  one 
thousand  dollars.  The  phrase  "  purposes  of  gaming,"  in  this  section,  shall  be 
taken  to  mean  any  purpose  of  playing  for  wagers  of  money  at  any  game  of  chance, 
by  whatever  name  the  same  shall  be  known.  If  the  said  implement  of  gaming 
seized  shall  have  annexed  to  the  same  anything  of  value,  apart  from  their  value  as 
such  implements,  the  said  thing  of  value  so  annexed  to  the  implement  ordered  to 
be  destroyed,  shall  be  returned  to  the  owner  thereof. 

I  10.  It  is  hereby  made  the  duty  of  the  board  of  police,  for  more  effectually  dis-  Police  pro 
tributing  and  enforciug  its  police  government  and  discipline,  to  divide  the  said 
"  The  Metropolitan  Police  District "  into  precincts  not  exceeding  forty,  and  with- 
out regard  to  county  or  ward  boundaries,  and  to  assign  one  inspector  or  captain 
of  police,  and  four  sergeants  of  police  to  each  of  said  precincts.    The  board  may  Sob-sta- 
from  time  to  time  establish  a  station  or  sub-station  in  each  precinct,  for  the  accom- tl0Us" 
modation  of  the  police  force  on  duty  therein.    It  may  from  time  to  time  detail  and 
change,  without  regard  to  or  limitation  of  residence,  inspectors  or  captains,  ser- 
geants and  patrolmen  and  doormen  to  such  parts  of  the  district,  rivers,  creeks  and 
harbors  therein,  or  to  such  of  the  police  and  criminal  courts,  and  to  the  public 
offices  of  the  government  of  the  cities  of  New-York  and  Brooklyn,  and  to  the 
quarantine  and  emigration  offices,  as  it  may  deem  advisable.    It  shall  not  suspend  suspensions, 
members  of  the  police  force  from  pay  for  more  than  thirty  days.  It  shall  promulgate 
all  regulations  and  orders  through  the  general  superintendent  of  police,  who  shall  Snpertnten- 
take  the  place  of  the  mayor  of  the  city  of  New-York  and  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  powers, 
as  being  the  head  of  the  police  departments  or  force  in  the  said  cities,  but  always 
subject  to  the  orders  and  regulations  of  the  board  of  police ;  and  it  shall  be  the 
duty  of  the  police  force  to  respect  and  obey  the  said  general  superintendent  of  po- 
lice as  the  head  and  chief  of  the  same,  subject  to  the  rules  and  regulations  and  gen- 
eral orders  of  the  board  of  police. 

2  11.  The  board  of  police,  whenever  it  shall  see  fit,  shall,  on  the  application  of  patrolmen, 
any  person  or  persons  showing  the  necessity  thereof,  appoint  and  swear  any 
additional  number  of  patrolmen  to  do  duty  at  any  p'ace  within  "  The  Metropolitan 
Police  Dirtrict,"  at  the  charge  and  expense  of  the  person  or  persons  by  whom  the 
application  shall  be  made  (but  not  to  exceed  the  yearly  sum  provided  for  patrol- 
men of  the  force  provide*  by  this  act  as  the  general  police  force)  ;  and  the  patrol- 
men so  appointed  shall  be  subject  to  the  orders  of  the  board  of  police,  and  shall 
obey  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  board  and  conform  to  its  general  discipline, 
and  to  such  other  special  regulations  as  may  be  made,  and  shall  wear  such  dress  or 
emblem  as  the  board  may  direct,  and  shall,  during  the  term  of  their  holding  ap- 
pointment, possess  all  the  powers,  privileges  and  duties  of  the  patrol  force  hereto- 
fore prescribed.  The  persons  so  appointed  may  be  removed  at  any  time  by  the 
board  of  police,  without  assigning  cause  thereof,  upon  one  month's  notice  of  the 


6 


AN  ACT  TO  ETSABLISH  A 


Special 
patrolmen. 


Resigna- 
tions. 


Ftolcn  pro- 
perty. 


Rooks  of 
records. 


Station- 
houses. 


intention  so  to  do,  given  to  the  person  or  persons  who  applied  for  the  appointment 
as  aforesaid.  The  board  of  police  may  also,  upon  any  immergency  of  riot,  pesti- 
lence, invasion,  or  daring  any  day  of  public  election  or  celebration,  appoint  as  many 
special  patrolmen,  without  pay,  from  among  the  citizens,  as  it  may  deem  advisable, 
and  for  a  specified  time,  and  during  the  term  of  service  of  any  such  special  patrol- 
men he  shall  possess  all  the  powers  and  privileges,  and  perform  all  the  duties  of  the 
patrolmen  of  the  standing  police  force  of  the  district ;  but  the  board  of  police,  in 
making  such  appointment,  shall  in  no  way  interfere  with  the  force  of  the  lawful 
command  of  the  sheriffs  of  counties,  as  now  provided  for  by  law,  and  such  special 
patrol  shall  wear  an  emblem,  to  be  prescribed  by  the  police  commissioners. 

§  12.  No  member  of  the  police  force,  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  the  pay 
which  may  be  due  him,  shall  withdraw  or  resign  from  the  police  force,  unless  he 
shall  have  given  one  month's  notice  thereof  in  writing  to  the  general  superinten- 
dent of  police,  and  no  person  who  shall  have  ever  been  removed  from  the  police 
force  established  by  this  act,  for  cause,  shall  be  reappointed  by  the  board  of  police 
to  any  office  in  the  said  police  force. 

g  13.  All  stolen  property  taken  by  members  of  the  police  force  shall  be  kept  in 
a  place  and  by  a  person  to  be  designated  by  the  board  of  police.  Every  such 
article  of  property  shall  be  entered  in  a  book  kept  for  the  purpose,  together  with 
name  of  the  owner,  if  ascertained,  and  name  of  the  place  where  found,  and  of  the 
person  from  whom  taken,  with  the  general  circumstances  and  the  date  of  its  receipt, 
and  the  name  of  the  officer  recovering  the  same.  The  board  of  police  shall  also 
cause  to  be  kept  general  complaint  books,  in  which  shall  be  entered  every  com- 
plaint preferred  upon  personal  knowledge  of  the  circumstances  thereof,  with  the 
name  and  residence  of  the  complainant.  It  shall  also  cause  to  be  kept  books  for 
the  registry  of  lost,  missing  or  stolen  property,  for  the  general  convenience  of  the 
public  and  of  the  police  force  of  the  district,  It  shall  also  cause  to  be  kept  books 
of  records  of  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  wherein  shall  be  entered  the 
name  of  every  member  of  the  police  force,  with  his  time  and  place  of  nativity,  the 
time  and  place  when  he  became  a  citizen,  if  he  was  born  out  of  the  United  States, 
his  age,  his  former  occupation,  number  of  family  and  the  residence  thereof,  the 
date  of  appointment  or  dismissal  from  office,  with  the  cause  of  the  latter.  And 
in  every  such  record  sufficient  space  shall  be  left  against  all  such  entries  wherein 
to  make  record  of  the  number  of  arrests  made  by  such  member  of  the  police  force, 
or  of  any  special  sevices  deemed  meritorious  by  the  inspectors  or  captains. of  police. 
It  shall  also  cause  to  be  kept  in  proper  books  the  accounts  of  the  treasurer  of  the 
board  and  number  or  the  several  meetings  thereof,  and  all  receipts  for  moneys,  or 
warrants  or  checks  for  moneys,  shall  be  written  in  bor^ks  kept  for  the  purpose, 
and  the  said  receipts  signed  by  the  person  or  persons  in  every  case  receiving  money 
warrants  or  checks  from  the  treasurer.  All  such  books  shall  be  at  all  business 
hours,  and  when  not  in  actual  use,  open  to  public  inspection.  The  board  of  police 
shall  also  cause  to  be  kept  and  bound  all  police  returns  and  reports  of  the  district. 

$  14.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  common  councils  of  the  cities  of  New-York 
and  Brooklyn  respectively,  in  accordance  with  the  practice  and  ordinances  now 
existing  therein,  to  provide,  at  the  expense  of  said  cities,  respectively,  all  necessary 
accommodations,  within  such  precincts  of  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police 


METROPOLITAN  POLICE  DISTRICT. 


District""  as  shall  be  contained  within  the  boundaries  of  the  said  cities  respectively 
for  the  station-houses  required  by  the  board  of  police  for  the  accommodation  of 
the  police  force  of  such  precincts,  for  the  lodging  of  vagrants  and  disorderly  per- 
sons and  for  the  temporary  detention  of  persons  arrested  for  offences.    It  shall  also 
be  the  duty  of  the  said  common  councils  respectively  to  furnish  the  same  suitably, 
and  to  warm  and  light  the  same  by  day  \md  night.    In  case  the  £aid  common 
councils  or  either  of  them  neglect  or  refuse  so  to  do  after  having  been  thereto  re- 
quested by  the  board  of  police,  then  the  said  board  may  make  their  own  provisions 
in  the  premises,  and  the  same,  when  made,  shall  become  a  proper  charge  and  debt 
for  the  expenses  and  disbursement  thereof  against  the  said  city  or  cities,  whose 
common  council  has  so  neglected  or  refused  to  make  provision  as  aforesaid.  The 
accommodations  required  in  the  counties  cf  Richmond  and  Westchester,  and  in 
county  towns  of  Kings  county,  respectively,  shall  be  those  ordinarily  made  and 
used  therein  by  the  criminal  authorities  of  each  town  or  village  therein ;  and  so  far 
as  the  detention  of  persons  under  arrest  is  concerned,  the  same  shall  be  lawful  in 
any  part  of  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  without  regard  to  connty 
lines  therein,  on  direction  to  that  effect  by  any  inspector  or  captain  of  police  ;  and  Arr05ts- 
in  every  case  of  arrest,  the  same  shall  be  made  known  within  six  hours  thereafter 
to  the  inspector  or  captain  upon  duty  in  the  precinct  wherein  the  arrest  was  made 
by  the  person  making  the  same,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  said  inspector 
within  twelve  hours  after  such  notice,  to  make  written  return  thereof  according  to 
the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  board  of  police,  together  with  the  name  of  the 
■partv  arrested,  the  offence,  the  place  of  arrest  and  the  place  of  detention.    The  intension 

1      J  .  *  of  witnesses 

board  of  police  shall  provide  suitable  accommodation  within  the  said  "  The  Me- 
tropolitan Police  District,"  for  the  detention  of  witnesses  who  arc  unable  to  fur- 
nish security  for  their  appearance  in  criminal  proceedings,  and  such  accommoda- 
tions shall  be  in  premises  other  than  those  employed  for  the  confinement  of  persons 
-  charged  with  crime,  fraud  or  disorderly  conduct,  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the 
magistrates,  in  committing  witnesses,  to  have  regard  to  the  rules  and  regulations 
of  the  board  of  police  in  respect  to  their  detention. 

§15.  All  telegraphic  apparatus,  public  police  property,  books,  records  and  ac-  Police  Pr°- 
coutrements,  now  in  the  possession  of  the  police  departments  of  Brooklyn  and  New-  PCrtJ ' 
York  are  hereby  given  for  the  use  (at  the  proper  places  within  the  counties  of 
Kings  and  Brooklyn,  and  not  to  be  removed  from  the  county  wherein  now  used), 
of  the  board  of  police  herein  authorized  ;  but  the  ownership  of  the  same  and  the 
use  thereof,  as  aforesaid,  shall  be  according  to  the  ordinances  which  the  common 
councils  of  the  cities  in  which  the  said  property  is  situated,  have  enacted  or  may 
hereafter  enact.  The  board  of  police  shall  have  power  to  enact  and  maintain,  un- 
der the  general  laws  of  the  state  relating  to  telegraph  lines,  all  such  lines  of  tele- 
graph in  such  places  within  the  said  district  as,  for  the  purposes  of  police,  the 
board  shall  deem  necessary. 

I  16.  The  necessary  expenses  incurred  an  the  execution  of  criminal  process  Expenses, 
within  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  shall  be  a  county  charge  only 
against  the  county  from  which  the  said  process  issued. 

I  17.  The  constables  elected  by  the  electors  within  the  counties  of  Westchester  constables* 
and  Richmond,  and  in  the  county  town  of  Kings,  shall  possess  all  the  powers  con- 


8 


AN  ACT  TO  ESTABLISH  A 


Supervisors. 


Village  and 
town  au- 
thorities. 


Taxes. 


Exemption. 


Health 
oflicers. 


Ordinances 
■to  he  en- 
forced. 


Information 
to  he  given, 


Military. 


cnk& 

Snhpcenas. 
Oaths 


ferret!  by  this  act  upon  patrolmen  of  the  police  force.  The  board  of  supervisors 
in  each  cf  the  said  last  mentioned  counties,  and  the  supervisors  of  the  county  towns 
of  Kings,  in  board  assembled,  may  call  upon  the  board  of  police  to  appoint  for 
duty  within  the  police  precincts,  of  which  the  said  county  shall  be  a  part,  as  many 
additional  inspectors  or  captains,  sergeants  and  patrolmen  as  it  shall  enumerate  or 
describe,  upon  appropriations  to  the  police  fund  the  necessary  expenses  and  sal- 
aries to  be  incurred  thereby.  Any  of  the  village  or  town  authorities  within  the 
said  counties  respectively  may  also  make  such  demand  upon  the  board  of  police, 
upon  making  the  like  provision  of  pay ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of 
police  to  appoint  such  officers,  who  shall  thereafter  become  regular  members  of 
the  police  force  of  the  district,  and,  subject  to  all  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
board,  discharge  the  duties  and  possess  the  powers  and  privileges  as  such  mem- 
bers. The  supervisors  of  the  counties  of  Kichmond,  Westchester  and  Kings  are 
hereby  authorized  from  time  to  time  to  levy  and  raise  by  tax,  upon  the  real  and 
personal  property  taxable  within  each  county,  such  sum  or  sums  of  money  as  may 
be  required  to  carry  into  effect  the  provisions  of  this  section  or  the  police  purposes 
of  this  act. 

g  18.  No  person  holding  office  under  this  act  shall  be  liable  to  military  or  jury 
duty,  nor  to  arrest  on  civil  process,  or  to  service  of  subpoena  from  civil  courts 
whilst  actually  on  duty. 

\  19.  The  health  officer  of  the  port  of  New-York  shall  have  power,  at  all  times? 
to  call  upon  any  of  the  police  force  of  the  district,  to  a  number  not  exceeding  ten, 
to  aid  him  upon  any  necessary  emergency  in  enforcing  the  powers  and  duties  con- 
ferred upon  his  office  by  law  ;  and  it  shall  thereupon  become  the  duty  of  any  such 
member  of  the  police  force,  so  called  upon,  to  obey  him ;  but  such  service  shall 
not  continue  longer  than  twenty-four  hours. 

§  20.  The  board  of  police  shall,  at  all  times,  cause  the  ordinances  of  the  cities 
of  New-York  and  Brooklyn  to  be  properly  inforced  ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of 
said  board  at  all  times,  whenever  consistent  with  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the 
board,  and  with  the  requirements  of  this  act,  to  furnish  all  information  desired, 
and  comply  with  all  the  requests  made  by  the  common  council  of  the  said  cities, 
or  by  the  mayor  thereof,  or  by  the  board  of  supervisors  of  the  counties  of  West- 
chester and  Richmond,  and  the  county  towui  of  Kings.  The  board  of  police  is 
hereby  invested  with  all  the  powers  now  conferred  by  law  upon  the  mayors  of 
New-York  and  Brooklyn  in  respect  to  ordering  military  assistance  in  aid  of  the 
civil  authorities  to  quell  riots,  suppress  insurrection,  protect  the  property  and  pre- 
serve the  public  tranquility.  The  board  of  police  shall  appoint  all  court  clerks 
prescribed  to  the  judicial  districts  in  which  police  justices  are  elected  in  the  city 
and  county  of  New- York,  and  it  shall  designate  the  courts  at  which  they  shall  do 
duty  respectively.  The  board  of  police  shall  have  power  to  issue  subpoenas  tested 
in  the  name  of  its  president  to  compel  before  it  the  attendance  of  Avitnesscs  upon 
any  proceedings  authorized  by  its  rules  and  regulations.  Each  commissioner  of 
police,  the  general  superintendent  of  police  and  each  deputy  superintendent  of 
police,  and  the  chief  clerk  of  the  board  of  police,  arc  hereby  given  power  to  ad- 
minister, take,  receive  and  subscribe  all  affirmations  and  oaths  to uny  witnesses  sum- 
moned and  appearing  in  any  matter  or  proceeding  authorized  as  aforesaid,  or  to 


METROPOLITAN  POLICE  DISTRICT. 


9 


any  depositions  necessary  by  the  rules  and  regulations  of  the  board  of  police. 
Any  wilful  and  corrupt  false  swearing  by  any  witness  or  person  making  deposi- 
tion, before  any  of  the  officers  last  mentioned,  to  any  material  facts  in  any 
necessary  proceeding  under  the  said  rules  and  regulations,  shall  be  deemed  per- 
jury, and  punished  in  the  manner  now  prescribed  by  law  for  such  offence.  The 
provisions  of  law  now  existing  in  respect  to  attachment  of  witnesses  before  Witnesses, 
committees  of  the  common  council  of  New-York,  and  to  the  compulsory 
attendance  of  the  said  witnesses  to  appear  and  testify  before  them,  are  hereby 
applied  to  the  case  of  witnesses  subpoenaed  before  the  board  of  police. 

I  21.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  police  to  detail,  on  the  day  of  any  Elections, 
election  within  the  cities  of  New- York  and  Brooklyn,  at  least  two  patrolmen  to 
each  election  poll,  and  shall  in  and  for  each  of  the  said  cities  appoint  all  poll 
clerks  provided  for  by  law,  and  shall  in  and  for  the  said  cities  provide  ballot  boxes 
for  use  at  general,  special  and  charter  elections,  and  keep  custody  of  the  said 
boxes,  except  during  the  taking,  receiving  and  counting  of  the  votes.    It  shall  Snlo  of  iu 
not  be  lawful  for  any  person  to  publicly  keep  or  dispose  of  any  intoxicating  j£P^ting 
liquors  upon  the  first  day  of  the  week,  called  Sunday,  or  upon  any  day  of  public 
election  within  the  said  the  Metropolitan  Police  District,  under  a  penalty  of  fifty 
dollars  for  each  offence,  to  be  sued  for  and  recovered  in  the  name  of  the  people 
of  the  State  of  New-York,  by  the  district  attorney  of  the  county  wherein  the 
offence  is  committed,  for  the  benefit  of  the  police  contingent  fund  hereby  author- 
ized ;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  board  of  police  to  strictly  enforce  the  pro- 
visions of  this  section  by  its  proper  orders  in  respect  thereto.    It  shall  be  the  Booths, 
duty  of  the  said  board  to  prevent  any  booth  or  box  for  the  distribution  of  tickets 
at  any  election  to  be  erectctf  or  maintained  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of  any 
polling  place  within  the  said  district. 

\  22.  It  shall  be  a  misdemeanor,  punishable  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  vioionco  at 
jail  or  penitentiary,"  if  there  be  a  penitentiary  in  the  county  where  the  conviction  Eieotlons- 
is  had,  not  less  than  one  year  nor  exceeding  two  years,  or  by  a  fine  not  less  than 
two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  for  any  person,  without'  justifiable  or  excusable 
cause,  to  use  personal  violence  upon  any  elector  in  the  Metropolitan  Police 
Ditrsict,  or  upon  any  member  of  the  police  force  thereof  when  in  the  discharge 
of  his  duty,  or  for  any  such  member  to  neglect  making  any  arrest  for  an  offence 
against  the  law  of  the  State,  committed  in  his  presence,  or  for  any  person  not  a 
member  of  the  police  force  to  falsely  represent  himself  as  being  such  member 
with  a  fradulent  design. 

$  23.  The  treasurer  of  the  board  of  police  shall  receive  an  annual  stated  salary 
of  three  thousand  dollars,  and  each  other  commissioner  shall  receive  an  allowance  Salanes- 
of  eight  dollars  for  each  day  of  actual  service,  the  same  to  be  certified  to  the 
comptroller  of  the  state  by  the  treasurer  of  the  board,  but  no  other  compensation 
shall  be  paid  or  allowed  to  the  members  of  the  board.  The  general  suparin- 
tendant  of  police  shall  receive  a  like  salary  of  three  thousand  dollars.  Each 
deputy  superintendant  of  police  shall  receive  a  like  salary  of  two  thousaud  dollars; 
each  surgeon  of  police  shall  receive  a  like  salary  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  ;  each 
inspector  or  captain  of  police  shall  receive  a  like  salary  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  ; 
each  sergeant  of  police  shall  receive  a  like  salary  of  nine  hundred  dollars  ;  the 


10 


PUBLIC  ACTS  OF  NEW  YORK. 


Rewards. 


chief  clerk  to  the  board  of  police  shall  receive  a  like  salary  of  two  thousand 
dollars,  and  each  deputy  clerk  a  like  salary  of  one  thousand  dollars.  The 
pay  of  each  police  patrolman  shall  be  at  the  rate  of  eight  hundred  dollars,  and 
that  of  each  doorman  at  the  rate  of  seven  hundred  dollars  per  year.  The  salaries 
shall  be  be  paid  quarterly  and  the  pay  monthly,  to  each  person  entitled  thereto. 
The  salary  of  each  commissioner  shall  be  paid  to  him  by  the  comptroller  of  the 
state,  out  of  the  police  fund.  Each  inspector  or  captain  shall  receive  monthly 
from  the  treasurer  of  the  board,  the  sums  required  for  the  pay  of  the  patrolmen 
and  doormen  doing  duty  within  his  police  precinct.  No  member  of  the  board  of 
police  or  of  the  police  force,  shall  receive  or  share  in,  for  his  own  benefit,  under 
any  pretence  whatsoever,  any  present,  fee,  gift,  or  emolument  for  police  services, 
other  than  the  regular  salary  and  pay  provided  by  this  section,  except  by  unani- 
mous consent  of  the  board  of  police. 

g  24.  All  rewards,  fees,  proceeds  of  gifts  and  emoluments  that  may  be  allowed 
by  the  board  of  police,  to  be  paid  and  given  for  account  of  extraordinary  services 
of  any  member  of  the  police  force,  and  all  moneys  arising  from  the  sale  of  un- 
claimed goods  shall  be  paid  into  the  bank  wherein  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of 
police  shall  be  required,  as  hereinafter  provided  to  keep  his  accounts.  The  pay- 
ments so  made  shall  constitute  a  fund,  to  be  called  the  "  Police  Life  and  Health 
Insurance  Fund,"  and  the  persons  who  shall  from  time  to  time  fill  the  office  of  the 
said  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  police  and  that  of  the  comptrollers  of  the 
cities  of  New-York  and  Brooklyn  are  hereby  declared  the  trustees  of  the  said 
funds,  and  may  invest  the  same  as  they  shall  see  fit,  either  in  whole  or  in  part. 

§  25.  Whenever  any  member  of  the  police  force  in  the  actual  performance  of 
his  duty  shall  become  bodily  disabled,  his  necessary  expenses,  on  the  certificate  of 
a  surgeon  of  police,  stating  the  manner,  cause  and  condition  of  injury  and  approv. 
ed  by  the  board  of  police,  during  the  time  his  disabling  as  aforesaid  continues 
may  become  a  charge  upon  the  fund  provided  for  in  the  preceding  section.  If 
such  bodily  disabling  is  likely  to  continue  for  life,  on  the  like  certificate  to  that 
effect  and  the  like  approval,  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dollars  may  be  chargeable 
upon  the  said  fund,  to  be  paid  to  the  person  so  injured.  If  any  member  of  the 
police  force  in  the  performance  of  his  duty,  shall  be  killed  or  shall  die  from  the 
effect  of  any  injury  received  by  him  whilst  in  such  performance,  and  there  shall 
be  any  person  absolutely  interested  pecuniarily  in  the  continuance  of  his  life  a 
sum  of  two  thousand  dollars  may  be  chargeable  against  the  said  last  mentioned 
fund  to  be  paid  to  the  person  so  interested.  In  every  case  the  board  of  police 
shall  inquire  into  the  circumstances,  and  if  satisfied  the  charge  upon  the  said  fund 
is  correct,  shall  order  the  same  to  be  paid  by  the  draft  of  the  said  trustees  upon 
the  said  fund,  each  writing  his  signature  thereto.  But  the  provisions  of  this 
section  shall  not  apply  to  special  patrolmen  appointed  as  hereinbefore  provided 
or,  at  the  request  and  expense  of  private  parties. 

\  26.  The  board  of  supervisors  in  the  county  of  New  York,  and  the  joint 
Jupp^rTo/01*  board  of  supervisors  and  aldermen  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn  and  Kings,  respectively, 
department,         annuaily  raise  and  collect  by  tax  upon  the  real  and  person ;  1  property  taxable 
within  the  cities  of  New- York  and  Brooklyn,  such  sums  of  money  as  the  board 
of  police  for  the  said  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  on  or  before  the  first 


Disabled 
licomen 


po- 


Killed  in 
service. 


METROPOLITAN  POLICE  DISTRICT. 


II 


Monday  of  June  in  each  year  shall  apportion  as  requisite  and  needful  to  be  raised 
by  each  city  and  county,  which  several  sums  of  money  shall  be  applied  by  the 
said  board  of  police  for  the  fiscal  purposes  of  this  act.  But  such  appointment 
shall  r.ot  be  legal  or  binding  upon  the  respective  boards  of  supervisors  above 
mentioned  if  the  apportionment  of  tax  made  to  each  county  aforesaid  shall  exceed 
the  sum  which  shall  be  nec  essary  to  maintain  police  accommodations  and  the 
police  force  used  and  employed  within  each  or  either  of  the  said  counties,  accord- 
ing in  the  action  of  the  board  of  supervisors,  nor  unless  the  said  apportionment 
shall  be  first  approved  by  a  majority  vote  of  an  auditing  committee,  composed  of 
the  president  of  the  board  of  supervisors  in  each  of  the  counties  embraced  by  the 
said  "The  Metropolitan  Police  District"  and  by  the  comptrollers  of  the 
cities  of  New-York  and  Brooklyn  respectively.  The  said  several  sums  of  money 
apportioned,  levied  and  collected  within  each  of  said  cities  of  New- York  and 
Brooklyn  shall  be  in  lieu  of  all  taxes  within  each  of  the  said  cities  for  the  sup- 
port of  police  government  therein. 

\  27.  Such  several  sums  of  money  provided  for  by  the  preceding  section,  when  The  police 
colleced,  shall  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  said  respective  cities,  and  shall  be  fuad- 
styled  the  police  fund,  and  next  immediately  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  State  of 
New-York,  and  shall  be  paid  therein  and  therefrom  under  the  fiscal  regulations  of 
law  relating  to  the  school  fund  of  the  State  of  New-York,  at  least  once  a 
month,  but  not  in  a  sum  exceeding  at  any  one  time  one-sixth  of  the  whole  yearly 
sum  collected  ;  and  the  sums  of  moneys  collected  by  the  respective  cities,  afore- 
said, for  the  purposes  of  police  therein  during  the  years  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty- 
six  and  eighteen  hundred  aud  fifty-seven,  and  not  expended  in  the  respective 
treasuries  of  the  said  cities,  shall  immediately,  upon  the  organization  of  the  board 
of  police,  and  after  due  notice  to  that  effect  served  upon  the  comptroller  of  the 
city  and  county  of  New- York,  and  the  city  treasurer  of  Brooklyn,  be  paid  into 
the  state  treasury  as  a  part  of  the  police  fund,  aud  disbursed  as  before  provided, 
to  the  treasurer  of  the  board  of  police,  on  his  proper  warrant,  in  like  manner  as 
aforesaid. 

\  28.  The  treasurer  of  the  board  of  police  shall  disburse  all  moneys  required  Disburse- 
for  the  expenses  of  the  said  board,  but  always  upon  his  check  or  warrant  upon  the  ment3- 
funds  to  the  credit  of  the  board,  which  shall  be  deposited  by  the  said  treasurer  in 
such  bank  or  banks  within  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  District "  as  shall  be 
designated  for  that  purpose  by  the  comptroller  of  the  State  of  New- York.  No 
expenses  other  than  salaries  and  pay  herein  provided  shall  ever  be  incurred  by 
the  board  of  police,  except  for  rent,  stationery,  printing,  advertising  fuel  and 
lights,  unless  the  same  shall  be  expressly  authorized,  and  provision  therefor  made 
as  a  separate  county  or  city  charge,  by  the  board  of  supervisors  for  the  county,  or 
the  joint  board  of  the  supervisors  and  aldermen  of  the  city  of  Brooklyn,  within 
which  the  expenditure  becomes  necessary. 

g  29.  The  treasurer  of  the  board  of  police  shall,  before  entering  upon  the  duties 
of  his  office,  execute  a  bond  by  himself,  together  with  sufficient  sureties,  not  less 
than  two,  in  a  penalty  of  fifty  thousand  dollars  to  the  people  of  the  State  of  New-  SShSr 
York,  conditioned  for  the  faithful  performance  of  his  duties ;  the  sureties  to 
justify  before  a  justice  of  the  supreme  court  of  the  first  or  second  judicial  dis- 


12 


PUBLIC  ACTS  OF  NEW  YORK. 


trict.  This  bond  shall  be  approved  by  .the  comptroller  of  the  State  of  New- 
York,  and  shall  be  filed  in  the  office  of  said  comptroller.  Whenever  any  of  its 
conditions  shall  be  violated  the  said  bond  may  be  sued  upon  by  the  attorney- 
general  of  the  state,  and  the  proceeds  of  suit  paid  to  the  credit  of  the  police  fund 
provided  by  section  twenty-seven. 

$  30.  The  board  of  police  shall  require  and  make  suitable  provisions  respecting 
^ecurityof  security  to  be  entered  into  by  the  general  and  deputy  superintendents  of 
enteandoaih  police  and  by  the  inspectors  of  police,  and  for  the  taking  by  mem- 
ol  office.  bers  of  the  police  force  of  an  oath  of  office,  and  the  registry  of  the  same  in  a 
book  to  be  kept  for  that  purpose  by  the  board  of  police ;  which  oath  of  office 
may  be  taken  before  any  commissioner  of  police  who  is  hereby  empowered  to 
administer  and  receive  the  same, 
g  31.  From  and  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  police,  under  the  pro- 
rowers  of  visions  of  this  act,  it  shall  possess  all  the  power  and  authority  heretofore  conferr- 
board.  cj  ^  jaw  Up0n  board  of  commissioners  of  police  of  the  city  of  New- York,  or  upon 
the  mayor,  recorder  and  city  judge  of  said  city  as  police  commissioners,  or  upon 
the  mayors  of  New- York  and  Brooklyn  respectively,  as  the  heads  therein  of  the 
respective  police  departments  of  those  cities,  or  upon  the  aldermen  of  the  city  of 
Brooklyn  ;  which  power  and  authority  shall  relate  to  or  in  any  way  be  connected 
with  the  police  government,  police  appointments  or  police  discipline  within  either 
of  said  cities,  or  within  the  counties  of  Kings  and  New-York ;  and  from  and 
after  the  said  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  police  of  "  The  Metropolitan 
Police  District,"  the  duty  and  authority  and  power  of  each  and  all  of  the 
afore  mentioned  officers  in  relation  to  police  government,  appointment  and  discipline, 
shall  wholly  cease  and  vest  as  aforesaid  in  the  said  board  of  police  constituted  by 
this  act,  except  that  the  mayors  of  Brooklyn  and  New-York  shall  be,  with  the 
commissioners,  members,  ex-officio  of  the  board  of  police,  and  entitled  to  one  vote 
each  at  every  session  thereof,  when  present  at  its  meetings. 
Titles  of  $  32.  Fr©m  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  the  designation  of  chief  of  police 
office.  in  tne  cities  of  New-York  and  Brooklyn  shall  be  respectively  deputy  superinten- 
dents of  police,  and  the  persons  filling  the  first  mentioned  offices  shall  continue 
under  their  new  name  to  discharge,  as  before,  the  duties  of  heads  of  the  police 
departments  in  the  said  respective  cities,  but  only  until  a  general  superintendent 
of  police  shall  be  selected  and  appointed  by  the  board  of  police,  from  and  after 
which  they  shall  discharge  duty  respectively  as  his  deputies.  From  and  after  the 
passage  of  this  act,  captains  of  police  in  New- York  and  Brooklyn  shall  be 
designated  inspectors  or  captains  of  police  ;  lieutenants  and  assistant  captains  of 
police  in  said  cities,  shall  be  designated  sergeants  of  police,  and  perform  duty 
concurrently  with  the  sergeants  then  in  office,  until  the  board  shall  regulate  the 
proper  number  of  such  sergeants  according  to  the  terms  of  this  act ;  and  police- 
men shall  be  designated  patrol  men.  The  present  wards  of  the  said  cities  shall  be 
police  precincts  within  the  "  Metropolitan  Police  District,"  until  new  ones  are 
made  by  the  board  of  police.  The  police  in  the  cities  of  New- York  and  Brook- 
lyn, officers  and  patrolmen,  shall  continue  to  do  duty  under  existing  laws,  at  the 
passage  of  this  act,  and  according  to  the  regulations  of  the  departments  of  New- 
York  and  Brooklyn,  until  after  the  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  police  under  this 


METROPOLITAN  POLICE  DISTRICTS. 


13 


act,  when  the  said  police  shall  hold  office  and  do  'duty  under  the  provisions  of  the 
act  hereby  enacted,  and  as  members  of  the  police  force  of  "  The  Metropolitan 
Police  District,"  hereby  constituted.  Removals 

§  33.  The  board  of  police  shall  remove  from  office  any  one  of  the  present  mem-  emov 
bers  of  the  police  departments  of  New- York  or  Brooklyn,  not  possessed  of  the 
qualifications  set  forth  in  section  seven  of  this  act,  but  shall  proceed  in  the  man- 
ner prescribed  in  the  seventh  section  of  the  act. 

\  34.  The  general  superintendents  of  police  shall  make  to  the  board  of  police  Reports 
quarterly  reports  in  writing  of  the  state  of  "  The  Metropolitan  Police  Districts," 
with  such  statistics  and  suggestions  as  he  may  deem  advisable  for  the  improve- 
ments of  the  police  government  and  discipline  of  the  said  district.  The  board  of 
police  shall,  on  or  before  the  first  Monday  in  December  in  each  year,  report  in 
writing  the  condition  of  the  police  within  the  said  police  district,  to  the  governor 
of  the  state. 

g  35.  All  statutes,  parts  of  statutes  and  provisions  of  law  inconsistent  with  the  Repeal  of 
provisions  of  this  act  are  hereby  repealed,  together  with  all  modes  and  qualifica.  statutes, 
tions  of  appointment  to  office  as  members  of  police  departments,  of  elections  to  office 
therein,  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  act,  whether  such  statutes, 
provisions  and  modes  and  qualifications  relate  to  the  city  of  Brooklyn  or  to  the 
county  of  Kings  or  to  the  city  and  county  of  New- York. 

$  30.  Whenever  in  any  statute  not  inconsistent  with  this  act,  the  word  chief  of  other 
police  shall  occur,  it  shall  be  taken  to  mean  general  superintendent  of  police,  in  statutes> 
like  manner  the  word  captain  of  police  shall  be  deemed  to  mean  inspector  or 
captain  of  police,  in  like  manner  the  words  lieutenants  or  assistant  captains  of 
police,  shall  be  taken  to  mean  sergeants  of  police,  and  the  words  policemen  and 
patrol  men  shall  be  identical  in  meaning  in  any  act  not  repealed  by  this  act. 

^  37.  This  act  shall  take  effect  immediately. 


Km 


LAW  PAMPHLETS, 

PUBLISHED  BY  W.  REID  GOULD, 


158  NASSAU  STREET. 


1 


THE  NEW  YORK  EXCISE  LAW, 

PASSED  APRIL  16th,  1857. 


The  Laws  of  the  .State  of  New  York 

Authorizing  the  Formation  of  Corporations  for 
Manufacturing,  Mining,  Mechanical,  or  Chemical  Purposes. 


THE  FIRE  LAWS 

OF  THE  CITY  OF  NEW  YORK, 

Together  with  the   Builder's  Lien  Law 

For  the  City  of  New  Yrork  and  other  Cities  aud  Villages. 


The  Jjiiv*  or  tin  State  of  N.York, 

Relating  to 
RELIGIOUS  INCORPORATIONS. 


| 


POWERS  &  DllTIESOFtOlllSSDIMSDF  DEEDS,  S 


TOGETIIKIi  V'irn  C'OMPLEl 


Forms  of  Acknowledgment,  Proofs  of  Deeds,  &c, 

With  all  the  Statutes  relating  to  the  subject. 


THE  LAWS  OF  THE  STATE  OF  NEW  YORK 

Relating  to 
LANDLORD   AND  TENANT, 

Including  the  Revised  Statutes, 
And  all  Acts  subsequently  passed  on  that  subject. 


THE  FAMILY  EXPENSE  BOOK, 

Showing  the  daily  expenses  of  every  week. 

THE   IMPROVED  WASkHbOOK  FOR  GENTLEMEN, 

For  Keeping  Accounts  with  the  Laundress. 

THE  FAMILY  WASH  BOOK, 

An  easy  and  convenient  method  of  accounting  for  articles  sent  to  be 

Washed. 


1  e      ,  rM-  jb 


1 


